Inside the Hive

VF special correspondent Nick Bilton and New York Times tech reporter Kate Conger examine the X owner’s right-wing rebrand, Silicon Valley’s newfound “persecution complex,” and why the Trump-Musk bromance may flame out quicker than expected.

Vanity Fair editor in chief Radhika Jones and author Jeff Sharlet discuss Kamala Harris’s defeat, language and identity in the 2024 race, and how journalists can approach this consequential moment.

We’re going to be okay.

Sarah Matthews, a former Trump press secretary, recalls the “cognitive dissonance” of defending his rhetoric and says that testifying before the January 6 committee could come at immense personal cost: “I’m sure that there’s a list and I might be on it.”

The activist and former Georgia state representative says she’s prepared to protect democracy this November as Republicans attempt to suppress voting rights and sow chaos.

The Democratic strategist argued that Harris should be leaning into the “fresh versus stale” narrative and focus on winning the day—every day. “Are they in the trenches?” he asks. “Are they trying to win the news cycle?”

The statistician and polling analyst breaks down the “coin flip” nature of the Kamala Harris–Donald Trump race.

Extremism expert Barbara F. Walter believes guns and the internet have put the US in the Goldilocks zone for chaos and bloodshed amid the 2024 election. “The key point,” she says, is “will we be prepared for it?”

The Atlantic’s Helen Lewis and Bloomberg’s Ashley Carman discuss how the medium lets politicians get up close and personal while opening them up to risks that can come back to bite them.

Amanda Becker, Washington correspondent for The 19th, explains what you need to know about abortion politics in 2024: The GOP’s “extreme policies” have not changed.

After the final night of the Democratic National Convention, Vanity Fair editor in chief Radhika Jones and contributing editor Ta-Nehisi Coates discuss the triumphs and contradictions of this new Democratic Party.

On the latest episode of Inside the Hive, MSNBC analyst Anand Giridharadas discusses why the positivity around Harris is taking all the oxygen away from Trump’s frightening ambitions. “Fascism’s a f--king bore,” he says. “We have to show what it would feel like to be alive.”

Politico’s Eugene Daniels reflects on his years covering the VP and Democratic nominee, from the challenges she faced in the Biden White House to the shift in her communication style.

Veteran venture capitalist Roger McNamee unpacks why heavy hitters like Elon Musk and Marc Andreessen are saying goodbye to the Democratic Party—and how their libertarian fantasies are “misaligned” with the public’s interests.

NBC News Capitol Hill correspondent Ali Vitali discusses why the cards are stacked against non-white, non-male hopefuls like Kamala Harris, who is already deftly navigating the misogynistic minefield of presidential politics.

Author Katherine Stewart and sociologist Samuel Perry explain how the attempt on the former president’s life has only solidified his messiah-like mythos—and how Trump has turned Christian nationalists into his own electoral army.

Reproductive rights crackdowns, mass deportations, and a fealty-based federal bureaucracy. The former president has disavowed Project 2025, but Vanity Fair’s Molly Jong-Fast and Jeff Sharlet say his prints are all over it.